OBSERVER: Copernicus in 2022—the year in review
OBSERVER: Copernicus in 2022—the year in review
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Thu, 05/01/2023 – 11:04
Another successful year has been wrapped! We have witnessed extraordinary milestones this year and, as we enter into the new year, we want to remind ourselves of our accomplishments. As Europe’s Eyes on Earth, Copernicus has been crucial for observing the record-breaking temperatures and numerous extreme weather events we experienced in 2022. As a matter of fact, it continuously monitored wildfires, floods and droughts, helping local and national authorities throughout all phases of the emergency management cycle. A frontrunner in global satellite data and imagery collection, Copernicus’ profile and outreach considerably expanded, with journalists from top tier media using its insights in their articles and documentaries. High level events such as the Copernicus Horizon 2035 Conference and the EU Space Week 2022 fostered conversation on the future of Copernicus and animated the Copernicus ecosystem after two years of online events due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Copernicus Horizon 2035 Conference
The European Commission, its implementing partners and prominent user community leaders met during the Copernicus Horizon 2035 Conference, which was held in Toulouse on 16 and 17 February 2022, to evaluate the Copernicus programme’s progress to date and to discuss its future. These stakeholders emphasised the significance of the Copernicus programme helping policymakers to tackle climate change and ensure sustainable development. In order to better serve user communities and enhance user uptake, they stressed the need to further develop the programme, increase observation capacities taking the best of EU space technologies, accelerate digitalisation and facilitate access to data in order to open the doors for new space actors. The European Commission together with the European Space Agency also confirmed that the second generation of the current satellites (Sentinel-1, 2, 3 and 6), as well as the forthcoming Sentinel-4 and Sentinel-5, are all scheduled to launch in the upcoming years. Additionally, they reaffirmed that work on the Copernicus expansion missions, such as the CO2 Monitoring mission, is ongoing. These missions will significantly increase the programme’s current capabilities and meet user and EU policy needs in a variety of areas, ranging from monitoring the Arctic to assisting with global greenhouse gas monitoring initiatives. The major outcomes of this break event for Copernicus 2035 were reconciled in Council Conclusions for the future of Copernicus adopted on 10 June, as a testimony of the strong support received from member States.
EU Space Week 2022
The European Space Week (EUSW), the go-to event for Europe’s space community, took place from 3 to 6 October 2022 in Prague, Czech Republic. From policymakers to industry, start-ups, entrepreneurs, public authorities, investors and users, it was the place to be for anyone interested in the current and future developments of the EU’s Space Programme. Topics ranged from upcoming research and investment opportunities via Horizon Europe to Space 4 Equality, CASSINI matchmaking and updates on the status of core components of the EU Space Programme.
After a long-period of COVID-19 impacting in-person events, this year’s 2022 General Assembly (GA) of the Copernicus networks was an opportunity for many to reengage more closely and discuss exciting opportunities within the EU Space Programme. Taking place both in person and online, 33 speakers animated 14 sessions which deepened members’ knowledge of the activities across the Copernicus ecosystem and of the synergies with the EU Space Programme in general. The GA provided participants with several networking opportunities and favoured the development of innovative Copernicus-based ideas and entrepreneurial and research opportunities — fully in line with the “New Space” angle of this year’s EUSW.
Copernicus was once again in the spotlight during the EU Space User Consultation Platform (UCP) where both, Copernicus and Galileo/EGNOS users were invited to discuss their needs and requirements. For instance, one of the sessions on “renewable energy” demonstrated how a variety of Earth Observation-based solutions from the various Copernicus services may effectively support RepowerEU and the energy transition. Other UCP sessions discussed the ways in which Copernicus supports every stage of the infrastructure life cycle, from initial site selection to monitoring of construction and post-construction operations, as well as the ways in which Copernicus supports monitoring of geohazards, post-disaster damage assessment and building inspection.
GOVSATCOM – The Birth of IRIS2
This year marked a new era for satellite communication and digital connectivity. After Copernicus and Galileo, the new secure connectivity system is the latest initiative of the EU Space Programme. In honour of the announcement, the Commission launched a competition to Name the New EU Space Constellation. The competition, held under the patronage of Commissioner Thierry Breton and Commissioner Mariya Gabriel, invited students from the EU and African Union countries to propose a name capturing the political ambitions of this new initiative, its objectives and its technological innovation. After months of suspense, the name of the constellation was announced on 17 November 2022: IRIS2 (Infrastructure for Resilience, Interconnectivity and Security by Satellite). IRIS2 will bridge the gap between the need for assured and secure communication and the capabilities already offered by Copernicus, Galileo and EGNOS. By working in synergy with Galileo, EGNOS and Copernicus, IRIS2 will further enhance the EU Space Programme’s ability to keep European citizens safe and secure. This innovative system will provide digital connectivity everywhere in the EU, the continent of Africa and the Arctic region. The implementation of IRIS2 will follow an incremental approach with the ambition to deliver initial services in 2024 to reach full operational capability by 2027.
Our favourite images of the day
Copernicus has acquired some incredible images all through 2022 and we would love to share our favourites with you! A severe winter storm hit broad swathes of the eastern USA (Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Kentucky) in early January 2022. This image was acquired on 5 January 2022 by one of the Copernicus Sentinel-3 satellites.
This image, acquired by one of the Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellites on 20 April 2022, shows the tulip fields in full bloom near the town of Lisse, in the Western Netherlands. The striking colours of the fields show their beauty in spring, from April to mid-May, attracting more than one million tourists each year.
Multiple wildfires burned across New Mexico, USA, with devastating consequences. This image, acquired by one of the Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellites on Saturday 23 April 2022, shows the Calf Canyon and the Hermits Peak Fires, which mainly affected the communities of San Miguel and Mora.
On 24 June, one of the Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellites acquired this image of swirling green blooms in the Baltic Sea off the coast of the island of Gotland (Sweden). This bloom was probably triggered by the heat waves that affected the area during the second part of June. According to data published by the Danish Meteorological Institute, the sea temperature in this part of the Baltic Sea has an anomaly of up to +5°C compared to the refence period (1985-2000).
Etna is the most active stratovolcano on the planet, one of the highest mountains in Italy and the highest volcano in Europe, with a height of 3,357 metres. This image was acquired by a Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellite on 23 February 2021, when an eruption was ongoing.
Highlights from the Copernicus Services
Each of the Copernicus Services saw several highlights in 2022! Here are some of the most significant ones.
Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) & Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS)
In November 2022, at the United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP27), the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) and the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) emphasised how quality-assured and freely available Copernicus data supports policymakers in their efforts to combat climate change. During the conference, C3S Director, Carlo Buontempo, joined the Union for the Mediterranean’s (UfM) Senior Deputy Secretary General Grammenos Mastrojeni and other panellists discussed the value of Earth Observation data in addressing the risk to cultural heritage from sea-level rise in the Mediterranean. On the topic of health and climate risk, Buontempo highlighted a web application produced with UfM which examines the impact of climate change on the suitability of Mediterranean habitats for vector-borne diseases.
‘Copernicus: data-driven solutions for decision making and action’ panel (l-r) Jeremy Wilks, Euronews; C3S Director Carlo Buontempo; Karina von Schuckmann, Oceanographer at Mercator Ocean International; CAMS Deputy Director Richard Engelen
Copernicus Emergency Management Service (CEMS)
On 28 August 2022, the Copernicus Emergency Management Service (CEMS) celebrated a significant milestone: the tenth anniversary of its risk and recovery mapping component. Since it was first activated, the service has continuously improved to better meet the needs of users and has established itself as the go-to tool in the emergency management ecosystem. The Risk and Recovery Mapping module (RRM) offers on-demand geospatial information to support all phases of the emergency management cycle: preparedness, prevention, disaster risk reduction, emergency response and recovery. This information is derived from optical and radar satellite imagery as well as from other relevant datasets.
The Risk and Recovery map of activations and list of activations provide a real-time and searchable portal of the service’s activations.
Copernicus Marine Service (CMEMS)
The Copernicus Marine Service (CMEMS) published the sixth edition of the Ocean State Report in September of this year. It provides information on changes and variations in the ocean over the past decades, with a focus on changes in the marine environment (especially during the year 2020). The report, written by 150 scientific experts from more than 30 international institutions, draws heavily from the Copernicus Marine Ocean Monitoring Indicators. These indicators describe the state of the ocean and key changes utilising a wide range of analyses, models, information and data. Some of the highlights are:
Since 1993, sea level has risen by more than 9 centimetres, with a trend of 3.5 cm +/- 0.4 cm/year from 1993 to 2021;
In 2020, Arctic sea ice dropped to one the lowest levels since the 1970s. ;
Increased amounts of carbon originating mainly from various human activities have been absorbed by the ocean between 1985 and 2020.
The novel instruments and procedures created by CMEMS to track and document the ocean are also highlighted in the report.
Copernicus Land Monitoring Service (CLMS)
The Copernicus Land Monitoring Service (CLMS) released new products from the European Ground Motion Service (EGMS). Its calibrated product was released to users through the EGMS Viewer. This key EGMS product provides detailed and high-quality ground motion information to users, delivered as line-of-sight velocity maps in ascending and descending orbits referenced to a model derived from global navigation satellite systems time-series data. The EGMS provides an unprecedented opportunity to study geohazards and human-induced slow-moving deformation such as landslides, subsidence (due to groundwater exploitation or underground mining), volcanic unrest and much more.
Copernicus Security Service
The Copernicus service for security applications in support of EU External Action held its second Maritime Cybersecurity Conference, with the full-day event seeking to explore the dynamics behind the cyber threat landscape and the challenges faced by the sector. The conference provided a platform where relevant stakeholders addressed the current key cybersecurity challenges of the maritime sector as well as the ongoing process of digitalisation. EMSA supported the event agenda with two presentations. The first one discussed the changing threat landscape for Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships (MASS) while the second one focused on how EMSA’s activities can tackle maritime supply chain cybersecurity challenges.
These were only some of the highlights of 2022 and trust us, with such an exciting year as this, it was hard to choose! As we move into 2023, we are excited at what might be in store for Copernicus, and we look forward to keeping you updated on how the European Earth Observation constellation will keep benefiting everyone. In the meantime, we would like to wish all of you a Happy New Year!
Thu, 05/01/2023 – 12:00